Doll Dress

I'm afraid I have succumbed to the special kind of madness that is the American Girl Doll. This is Emily.

I don't mind really. Yes, it is an insane price for a doll. Yes, they are not even very cute. But my daughter likes hers very much and it makes her very happy. Which makes me very happy.

Now here is where being able to sew really comes into its own and becomes cost effective. Mere scraps of fabric are all that I need and suddenly I have a dress that would cost me $30 to buy!

I did some making in time for her birthday and the doll got a new outfit for the birthday, and one for the party. I'm afraid that I have been so busy making doll clothes that the child has not got a matching dress for her birthday. She did choose the fabric herself. I'm afraid it is pure polyester. It has a lovely drape but it is not the easiest fabric to cut or sew.

I used a free pattern generously shared at the blog, All Things With Purpose. I ended up retracing it slightly because the bodice was a bit high in the neckline and a bit wide in the armscye. My second version suited me better. Technically, I should be cutting the back bodice separately from the front but doing it all in one is so much faster that I'll take the small fabric wastage and going off-grain.

I changed the construction method too, I joined the outside and the lining at the back, neckline and armholes but not the side seams. After notching and turning right side out, I joined each side seam through the lining and the outer as one continuous seam.

The skirt dimensions are: 80cm wide and 20cm for knee length, 27cm for ankle length.

I used a strip of velcro for the closure. 16cm is the right amount to get it on and off easily.

The great thing about making doll clothes is that the finishes don't have to be perfect. Nobody is going to complain about velcro being scratchy!